Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (Advocates) sent the message below to Congress on August 10, 2021:
Heroic victim advocates who have experienced the suffering caused by the death or serious injury of a child, spouse or loved one because of a car or truck crash, hot car incident or seatback failure have been delivering urgent messages to you. While each story is unique, their message is united: Congress must advance proven vehicle safety solutions to prevent future tragedies as part of transportation and infrastructure legislation.
- Amy Cohen, Co-Founder, Families for Safe Streets, Mother of Sammy Cohen Eckstein
- Angela Jones, Kids and Car Safety Family Advocate, Mother of Charly Jones
- Tammy Huffman, Truck Safety Coalition Volunteer, Sister in-Law of Tim Huffman
- Michelle & Jason Fraser, Seatback Safety Advocates, Mother & Father of Jayden Faith
- Eileen Kosc, Truck Safety Coalition Volunteer, Mother of Bryan Kosc
- Norm Collins Sr., PhD, Kids and Car Safety Family Advocate, Grandfather of Norman ‘Bishop’ Collins III
- Jena Frost, Truck Safety Coalition Volunteer, Mother of Wyatt Frost
- Andy Warner, Seatback Safety Victim Advocate, Father of Taylor Grace Warner
- Russ Swift, Co-Chair of Parents Against Tired Truckers (P.A.T.T.), Father of Jasen Swift
- Jennifer Smith, Founder, StopDistractions.org, Daughter of Linda Doyle
- Lindsey Rogers-Seitz, Kids and Car Safety Family Advocate, Mother of Benjamin Seitz
- Melissa Wandall, President, National Coalition for Safer Roads (NCSR), Wife of Mark Wandall
- Theodore Schwab, Seatback Collapse Victim Advocate, Father of Teddy Schwab
- Jamie and Andrew Dill, PhD, Kids and Car Safety Family Advocates, Parents of Oliver Dill
What These Victim Advocates Ask You To Do:
Before a final infrastructure/transportation bill is signed into law, Congress must take action to make vital improvements necessary to prevent crashes, deaths & injuries.
- Advance requirements, performance standards and compliance dates for automatic emergency braking (AEB) in all new cars and trucks that detects and responds to vulnerable road users (VRUs).
- Any legislation must require that a system detects and alerts to the presence of an occupant in the entire passenger compartment to prevent hot car deaths and injuries. This is vital to ensure that children who access a vehicle on their own, as well as children who are unknowingly left in a vehicle, are saved.
- The federal standard for seatbacks has remained relatively unchanged since 1967. S. DOT must be required to improve the seatback standard by a date certain.
- Stop weakening truck safety rules – Remove reckless provisions that allow teen truckers to operate big rigs in interstate commerce and that provide special interest exemptions from federal truck driver hours of service (HOS) limits.
In honor of these families and the millions like them whose loved ones are either killed or injured each year on our roadways, meaningful safety advances must be included in any transportation/infrastructure legislation that makes it to President Biden’s desk.